Brownian motion

Particles in both liquids and gases (collectively called fluids) move randomly. This is called Brownian motion. They do this because they are bombarded by the other moving particles in the fluid. Larger particles can be moved by light, fast-moving molecules.

Brownian motion is named after the botanistRobert Brown, who first observed this in 1827. He used a microscope to look at pollen grains moving randomly in water. At this point, he could not explain why this occurred.

Brownian motion

But in 1905, physicist Albert Einstein explained that the pollen grains were being moved by individual water molecules. This confirmed that atoms and molecules did exist, and provided evidence for particle theory.